Extra insurance and peace of mind

[Financial.Velociraptor]

So on 26th of July I had a car accident.  (My fault, light was out and sunshine made it "look" green and I sailed through when I should have stopped.)  Totaled my Cavalier.  No one seemed hurt, just a little shaken.

I got a call from the insurance adjustor today telling me the other parties have acquired an attorney to handle their claim.  I'm pretty frugal but one thing I spent on was the maximum liabililty offered in the state of Texas (250k BI) AND a $1MM umbrella.

Adjustor says with no broken bones, lacerations, stitches etc, it is well nigh impossible for them go past the 250 and tap into the umbrella.  Oh and DON'T SPEAK TO ANY ATTORNEYS!   Hah. 

It only costs a few hundred more a year and might have saved me six figures in liability.  And I will sleep well tonight.

[RWD]

Definitely a better allocation of insurance premiums than lower deductibles!

[GilesMM]

It would be very difficult for them to crack six figures even with injuries unless they had huge out of pocket hospital costs or permanent conditions.

[Just Joe]

My employer promises me that I'm well insured when driving the company vehicles. Nevertheless I bought an extra policy through my insurance agent that gives a little more liability protection. Cost was not much and helps protect what my DW and I have accumulated - house, retirement funds, etc. should anything terrible happen. 

[iluvzbeach]

It would be very difficult for them to crack six figures even with injuries unless they had huge out of pocket hospital costs or permanent conditions.

I would certainly agree with your response if it weren’t for the fact that I just learned a friend’s parents received a 250K settlement (no lawsuit involved) for injuries from an accident where someone turned left in front of them & airbags were deployed. The father banged up his knees on the dash, both had some lacerations on their forearms from the airbags & she had to have (what I believe was) relatively minor surgery on one of her hands due to a torn ligament. Both are on Medicare, so out of pocket expenses should have been low. The settlement amount is rather mind boggling.

[Mr. Green]

Mr. 1500 (I think) blogged about accident litigation against him that drug out for almost 3 years and really stressed him out. After reading about his experience I'll never not carry an umbrella again. ~$135 for a million in coverage. Well worth it.

[seattlecyclone]

The liability isn't just about the out-of-pocket medical expenses. My understanding is the health insurance can also go after you for the amount they paid if you were at fault for the accident.